TAIPEI: Taiwan has not detected a single Chinese military aircraft around the island for nine of the past 10 days, leaving experts puzzling over the reasons for the dramatic reduction in sorties.
China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring the island under its control.
Beijing has stepped up military pressure on Taiwan in recent years, deploying fighter jets and warships around the island on a near-daily basis.
But since February 28, only two Chinese aircraft have been recorded in a single 24-hour period near Taiwan, according to an AFP tally of figures released daily by the defense ministry.
That compares with 86 for the same period last year. It is the longest stretch of no detections since AFP began recording the figures in 2024.
